Tips for Creating Surveys

[Sindhu B1]

 Tips for Creating Surveys 

Introduction :

A single survey that follows best practices can yield eye-opening information -- the kind that forever changes the direction of an organization for the better. On the other hand, a poorly creation of  survey will return useless data while creating a frustrating experience for the respondent.

So, why do these long, agonizing surveys persist?

Too often, marketers and researchers fall into the trap of focusing exclusively on their own need for answers, and not enough on the experience they create for the respondents. When that occurs, respondents sometimes take shortcuts through the survey (if they finish it at all), and neither party wins.

To right that wrong, we've laid out seven helpful tips to nudge your respondents through a whole survey in a way that creates a positive experience, without sacrificing the actionable information you’re seeking.

Tips for Creating Surveys 

Explain why someone should participate.

When requesting input from someone, remember that you’re asking the person to take precious time and energy out of their day to help your organization. In cases when you’re not offering an incentive for participation, it's important to keep in mind that you’re essentially appealing to the good nature of your contacts. (The hope is that after all those metaphorical back scratches you’ve given, they'll be willing to scratch yours.)

So whether you’re soliciting feedback via a website page, an email, or some other means, you'll want to emphasize why it’s worthwhile for someone to weigh in. Specifically, what will your organization do with the information your respondents provide? Why should your respondents care about that? How will your respondents benefit from sharing their perspectives? 

Here’s a little secret: In nearly every case, survey responses help your organization serve your customers and potential customers more effectively, right? Include that in your introduction. If you make it easy for people to see how completing your survey may improve their lives, they often feel more inclined to participate.

 Set expectations properly.

Have you ever taken a survey that felt like the Energizer bunny of surveys? You know, the kind that keeps going and going and going and ... you get the point.

By the end of it (assuming you even made it that far), you probably felt like you’d taken the Bar exam. (And any lawyer will tell you that's definitely not the experience you want to create for your respondents.)

Suffice it to say, much has been written about considerations for survey length. Whatever the final question count turns out to be, it’s in your best interest to help your respondents plan accordingly. 

For starters, tell them approximately how long they should set aside to complete your survey. This will help to ensure that they don’t have to rush or abandon the survey because of a time constraint. In some instances it can also be beneficial to use a survey tool that indicates the respondent’s progress throughout the survey using a progress bar.

 

When creating survey, there’s often a temptation among marketers to make the phrasing of questions as dry and bland as possible. For many, this is probably rooted in the fear that inserting superfluous language may influence the results of the survey. 

That’s a legitimate concern. After all, surveys aren’t supposed to entertain -- they’re supposed to elicit meaningful feedback. But surveys don’t have to be boring. In fact, surveys can and should engage the participants enough to inspire creative and constructive input that can be used to empower you to enact real change. 

Here are a  tips to consider when creating a survey that is engaging and free from bias:

• When you know you’re asking a particularly tough or demanding question, acknowledge it.
• Thank respondents in advance for providing thorough, candid answers.
• Offer words of encouragement if you’re requesting a detailed, open-ended response.
• Provide help text so that a respondent fully understands how to answer a question (so long as it doesn’t influence how he/she responds).
•                   Once your respondents have answered all your questions, you should give them the chance to have the last word. Rather than doing the survey equivalent of a “dine and dash," conclude instead with a question like this:

  "Thanks again for taking the time to complete this survey. Your input means a lot to us, and it will help us improve our ability to serve customers like you more effectively in the future. 
  
  Before you go, do you have anything else you’d like to add?

• No, I’m all set
• Yes, I’d like to add: [open text field]"                                                                                                                                                                                                                                           These are the things we have to keep in mind while taking survey

 Thanks and Regards ,

Sindhu B

[prathi2]

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